Dog Park in Ludlow Park

It is my great pleasure to report to you that we are well on the way to realizing our 4-year-long dream of a Dog Park on the plot of land on the west side of Riverdale Avenue between Culver St. and Franklin Ave. with separated areas for large and small dogs!


Thanks to your participation in the petition drive back in 2010 (and your patience in the interim), we have had the clout to clear the following hurdles:
* obtain Ludlow Park Residents Association endorsement in (August 2010);
* see passage of supportive resolution by the Yonkers City Council at the behest of then Councilman Wilson Terrero (October 2011);
* see approval of our proposal and clarification of permit requirements by the NY State Department of Transportation which has jurisdiction over that parcel of land (June 2013);
* obtain a quote for liability insurance ($1,707 annually) to fulfill a stipulation of our State permit (June 2013);
* obtain approval of Mayor Mike Spano's request for $20,000 towards construction and State permit fees from the Community Development Agency (CDA), an agency that oversees grant monies for community improvement projects (October 2013); and
* secured the cooperation of Groundwork Hudson Valley, a highly reputable local 501c(3) organization, to administer the CDA funds and provide us a means to receive tax-deductible donations from both individuals and foundations to support construction and ongoing operational costs (March 2014).

Bottom line: Our Dog Park could be built and functional within the next few months! Wow!

Please take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back as well as to acknowledge the steadfast work of our ad-hoc Executive Committee (Cindy Pramann, Nortrud Spero, and myself) in shepherding the project to this point. Credit also goes to former District 2 Council Representative Wilson Tererro, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Yonkers Planning and Development Commissioner Wilson Kimball, former City Council President Chuck Lesnick, Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and their staff members.

But now, more than ever, it is time for each and everyone of us apply whatever talents we have to finishing the job. HERE'S WHAT IS NEEDED FROM YOU:
#1 - Spread the word among your neighbors, friends and others with dogs that you meet on the streets of our neighborhood. Share this email with them!

#2 - Reply and at least let me know that you're still interested - please update your contact info as things may have changed since 2010. Ideally, it would be helpful to have your full name, home address, phone number(s), email address, names of dogs owned and their breed (optional, but useful if you ever need our local network to help track down your runaway dog). For now, I've been blind-copying everyone on the list. As we consolidate our group efforts and activate the committees below, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I HAVE YOUR PERMISSION TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH OTHERS IN THE GROUP.

#3 - Sign up for at least one of the following committees:
(a) Construction and Maintenance - input and oversight We need for someone to help select fencing materials and a contractor now.
(b) Rules and Guidelines - establish policy and arrange posting of rules
(c) Landscaping- the Dog Park sits right at the gateway to our community and should show our pride in Ludlow Park
(d) Fundraising - local (for example: bake sales, sale of bench markers, etc.) at the very least to cover our insurance costs
(e) Fundraising - grant applications to cover annual permit cost ($525/month)
(f) Communications- publicity within the community, possibly our own website; translations into Spanish.
(g) Executive- interface with other agencies as needed; coordinate committees and build organization infrastructure for stable and responsible conduct of business and continuity.

Finally, it would be terrific if every family considering using the dog park could get us off to a good start by making an initial tax-deductible donation in any amount to the account we have set up at Groundwork Hudson Valley. Here's how:

By check:
Mark the memo field“Dog Park in Ludlow Park” and make checks payable to:
GroundworkHudson Valley
22 Main Street
Yonkers, NY 10701

By online payment: Go to http://www.groundworkhv.org/donate/
and click the button at the bottom of the page to make a secure donation to Groundwork. In the section for a special purpose for your donation, be sure to write Ludlow Park Dog Park. [Optional acknowledgment: Check off the box immediately below, and accept the email acknowledgement option, entering "ludlowparkdogpark@gmail.com" ]

I look forward to hearing from you soon and to setting up our Groundbreaking Ceremony - perhaps as early as the beginning of May!

Enthusiastically,

Kathe Hertzberg